'If it becomes a disaster? Yes': Melnyk on if he'd move Sens

Eugene Melnyk, owner of the Ottawa Senators, addresses close to 100 kids on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 10, 2017JEAN LEVAC/POSTMEDIA

A slap shot away from the Eternal Flame on Parliament Hill, Eugene Melnyk wouldn’t promise he’d keep the Ottawa Senators in town forever.

The Senators owner, speaking before the club’s Alumni Class on the Hill on Friday night, told reporters the franchise is doing “okay” financially and, while he’s not thinking about moving the team right now, he would if it became “a disaster.”

While Melnyk, 58, who bought the Senators out of bankruptcy in 2003, said he’ll never sell the team, he’s not committed to keeping it here if the support continues to fall.

“It just won’t happen,” Melnyk said when asked what it would take for him to sell the Senators. “It’s a franchise, so imagine if you own a McDonald’s franchise, you can move it. But it’s nuts, why would you sell it? It’s something that’s very difficult to buy.

“We’re doing okay here. We’re not doing great, but we’re doing okay. I’m just too much of a fan. What else do you do? I’m a Canadian, I’m a hockey fan and, fanatically, a hockey fan. It’s something I really enjoy doing. I couldn’t think of anything better to do.”

Melnyk said he’d consider moving the Senators if the picture got worse financially because his revenues are already among the lowest in the league and attendance has been an issue of late at the Canadian Tire Centre.

“If it becomes a disaster? Yes. If you start not seeing crowds showing up, yes,” Melnyk said. “For now, we are on the cusp of doing okay.”

The reason Melnyk won’t sell the franchise is the fact he wants to be an owner.

“I love the game of hockey. If it doesn’t look good here, it could look good somewhere else. But I’m not suggesting that right now. What I’m saying is, I would never sell the team,” said Melnyk.

So would he move it? Melnyk hasn’t been the list bit pleased with the club’s attendance after the Senators got to within a goal of the Stanley Cup final last spring before losing in double-OT to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7.

“That’s always the possibility, with any franchise. If you open a grocery store and nobody comes, but one opens two blocks down and there’s a line outside, where are you going to have your store?” he said.

“Here, we’re fighting every day to sell a ticket. Honest to god. And when you get to the third round of the playoffs and you’re begging people to buy a ticket, something’s wrong with that picture. We’re just hoping that changes, that’s all.

“We’re not pushing, we’re not doing anything other than trying enthusiastically. Try and do things like this (outdoor game), which is probably going to be the greatest outdoor game to date, I almost guarantee you. Think positively. Put a positive team )on the ice) and keep winning. That’s our main goal.”

He was told people will think he’s bluffing with these remarks about the possibility of relocation.

“I don’t bluff,” Melnyk said. “It’s not a possibility now. How long can you underwrite a team? Like, literally underwrite. Write a cheque. I’m very positive. I think there’s a lot of little issues going on, especially in Kanata.

“There’s a lot of things we can do to enhance the experience, we’re now going to do.”

The organization is under the microscope and Melnyk was even asked if he had the money to own the team. He scoffed at the question.

“For how many centuries? Yes, I do. But I’m not going to blow a lifetime of working hard to support a hockey team. It’s not going to happen,” Melnyk said. “We can do that. I can do LeBreton. I don’t need partners there.

“The banks are a big part of anything that you do in any business transaction. So yeah, I have it. The bigger question is whether I’m prepared to blow all that money that I made over many years in a different industry in a different country.”

However, he also noted that he won’t continue to be in the top half of the league in payroll if the financial picture doesn’t improve.

“It’s a direct relationship, and make no mistake about it, there’s a direct relationship that’s going to start between revenue and how much you spend on players,” Melnyk added. “We are one of the bigger spenders in this league. We’re in the top half, We spend $68 million (all figures US).

“Unlike what everybody says, ‘Oh we’re cheap’. Are you kidding me? Sixty-eight million dollars … $75 million is the tops you can spend. You have to be careful, but even at $68 million, that’s way too much over the revenue base we have. If you want to go bankrupt, have the cheapest product on the market and the best product. We’re giving the best product. We’re trying our best.”

Melnyk said he feels the relationship between the team and the market has suffered over the past few years. He’s had to cut costs in the front office as a result and noted the player budget could be next.

“The market here has to prove itself. Otherwise, you do have to make changes,” Melnyk said. “We’ve cut everything to the bone in the organization and we are probably one of the thinnest management groups you have in the league.

“The next place you have to look at is players. We want to keep and maintain great players. Now you’re seeing it going crazy with a lot of the salaries and bonuses and we’re coming up to the (CBA) talks very soon. I’m hoping for the best out of those. At one point, one of the two have to break. You can’t keep spending at the top end and getting the lowest revenues — that doesn’t work.”

Of course, that will make everybody wonder about the future of captain Erik Karlsson, who will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

“My crystal ball is covered until (GM) Pierre (Dorion) comes to me with an offer,” said Melnyk. “Honestly, I’m the last guy that sees everything after everybody has kind of agreed around the table.”

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